In 1991, I had the extra good fortune to live for a year in Italy. How I ever organised a whole year off is beyond me but during that year there were many extraordinary changes of gear. One of the most notable of these was the rise of narrative, a feeling that led me back to University and English Literature and then writing novels.
I found this the other day. It’s from a concert I gave of a group of songs I wrote during the year. They formed a romantic arc and were really the seeds of my first novel which still sits in the bottom drawer. Click on the link to hear the songs. The lyrics are here so you can sing along!
Our Hearts
Met an old friend on the street yesterday
A little older like most of us all.
Held out my hand, pushed into my belly,
Familiarity’s a beautiful recall.
Heard an echo from the arches above…
A reflection of all those years of love
When we were both young,
Before the wars had begun,
When all was spring in our hearts.
The wars were young.
People pass by, some sigh, some smile
Some simply are lost in their thoughts.
Some can’t judge between begging and love.
Some calculate all up to naught.
We were playing, “Real Good For Free”
No one saw what the joke could be.
But I’m sure I saw the face,
Of the Madonna in that place,
Wink at the warmth in our hearts.
The Madonna’s face.
One eye on the neck one eye for police,
They don’t like this illicit embrace.
“The renaissance has passed now people are here
Please find a less popular place.”
This is the noblest earnings…
Everything will taste sweet in the spending.
Ignition of old dreams,
Dormant for sunbeams,
Filtering down to our hearts.
Sleeping dreams.
Out here the sun spotlight,
These steps form the wings of my stage.
My credit card safely tucked away
A couple of hours earns our weekly wage.
We were playing with the echoing noise…
Traffic was our only applause
But it’s show time, two times a day
Rhythmic coins fall our way
Love lives again in our hearts,
Coins two times a day.
Copyright 1991.